Anyone who talks about mobility is of course also talking about weekend outings with friends and colleagues. Holland Casino has had a tough six months. From the first six months of 2020, the company was completely closed for more than three and a half months due to the outbreak of the corona virus and the associated measures. A turnover of 146,3 million euros was generated compared to 353,8 million euros in the first half of 2019 (-58,7%). The net result after VPB amounts to -28,3 million euros, compared to 2019 million euros in the plus in 32,5. 

This negative result was realized after settlement of the NOW funds received. Holland Casino was completely closed from March 13 to July 1. The year went well until the closing. Turnover up to and including 12 March was 7% higher than in the same period in 2019. Both the number of visits (+ 3,9%) and the average spend per visit (+ 3,1%) showed an upward trend again.

Completely closed

“Corona has hit our company hard. From one day to the next we had to close our doors and our nearly 4.000 employees suddenly found themselves at home. As a result, we could no longer perform our important social function. No legal casino offering was available in the Netherlands for almost four months. Due to the closure, our turnover, about 60 million euros per month, was completely lost. ”, Said CEO Erwin van Lambaart.

Fortunately it was possible Holland Casino have sufficient liquidity in the past six months to get through this difficult period of closure. Thanks to the constructive regulations of the government - in which they only used NOW - as well as stringent cost control measures and tight operational management, they managed to get through these months and ensure the continuity of the business. In addition, the shareholder was prepared at an early stage not to receive the dividend for 2019 for the time being, which gave us financial scope. "

Future

Holland Casino has reopened its doors since 1 July. This is possible thanks to a carefully drawn up sector protocol, including observing the 1,5 meter distance, triage and reservation. As a result, a maximum of 30% of the regular number of guests can currently be received. The measures were recently further tightened by Holland Casino itself so that a safe, responsible, reliable and pleasant visit to one of the 14 locations remains possible. New national and regional guidelines are closely monitored and implemented if necessary.

“Unfortunately, the outlook for the rest of this year is not exactly rosy and for next year is extremely uncertain. Our figures for the second half of the year will also not be good due to all the necessary restrictive measures. We are therefore currently looking at how we as a company remain financially healthy and future-proof in this difficult period. We expect to be able to make further concrete announcements about this by December, ”says Van Lambaart.

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